


Goodbyes

by DisneyGeekWriter



Category: Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-13
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-10-04 04:08:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10267901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisneyGeekWriter/pseuds/DisneyGeekWriter
Summary: Belle's thoughts as she prepares to search for her father.





	

_“Take it with you. So you’ll always have a way to look back – and remember me.”_

_“Thank you for understanding how much he needs me.”_

Belle left the Beast’s chambers and across the wings to her own apartments. The skirts of her borrowed gown swished and swirled under her feet. She made a mental list of the things she should take with her to find her father. While the mirror couldn’t tell her exactly where Maurice was in the forest, she had the faith in herself and the magic that she had been surrounded by in the past few months. Magic. A concept she had only known in books. 

She looked around her rooms. He had given her more of what Mrs. Potts had said was his mother’s rooms after Christmas. He wanted her to feel at home. And Belle couldn’t tell you when it happened, that defining moment when she no longer felt like a prisoner but a wanted guest. If she really thought about it, the moment came to her. She had been watching him behind the tree while they were feeding the birds that hadn’t flown to warmer lands for the bitterly cold winter they were enduring. The Beast was trying. He was trying to be the gentleman she had fallen in love with – the heroes of her books. She watched him from behind the tree, watching the little birds eat from his paw. When they went back inside to warm up, he had offered her his arm to guide her up the slippery stone steps. She was home. Home with someone who understood her. Didn’t treat her differently because she was always reading. 

She carefully undid the lacings of the beautiful gold gown, stepping out of it and laying it on the warm bed she had finally got to be the right level of comfort and warmth. She would miss the castle. She would miss the servants, Chip most of all. The little boy – she was sure of it – the little boy trapped as a teacup had been her friend. They wouldn’t understand. Cogsworth, Lumerie, Mrs. Potts – they all had been so kind, so welcoming to this stranger. A tear pricked in her eyes as Belle knew she wouldn’t be able to say goodbye to them. 

Unable to think about her dear friends any longer she quickly changed into her simple dress. She looked west, wishing to be able to see through stone, wanting to see him one last time. That night had been so perfect. The dinner, the music and the dance. It was all she could have dreamt of and now – now it was over. She had to find her father. 

The mournful howl was the last thing she heard over the pounding hooves on the frozen ground. 


End file.
